Most wanted fugitive who left east Houston halfway house captured in Austin

Michael Elbert Young, 42, was arrested by the Austin Police Department after an alleged robbery where he is accused of choking a woman and stealing a ring and other belongings

April 17, 2012 11:14:32 AM PDT

AUSTIN, TX --

A high-risk Houston sex offender on court-ordered electronic monitoring, who escaped from an east Houston halfway house April 5, was arrested in Austin early this morning.

Michael Elbert Young, 42, was arrested by the Austin Police Department after an alleged robbery where he is accused of choking a woman and stealing a ring and other belongings early Tuesday morning. Young initially gave a fictitious name at the scene when taken into custody, but his true identity was discovered a short time later. In addition to any charges in Austin, he faces a third-degree felony charge of failure to comply with civil commitment requirements in Harris County.

On April 5, Young escaped from the Southeast Texas Transitional Center on 10950 Beaumont Highway around 9:50pm. He climbed over a barbed wire-topped fence and discarded his GPS-tracked ankle monitor. A $7,500 Texas Crime Stoppers reward will not be paid since there was not a tip involved.

Young is considered a sexually violent predator who was at a high risk to reoffend. He served eight years in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) for aggravated assault, and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, with both charges carrying a sexual element. Young also spent 20 years in the TDCJ for sexual assault of a child and attempted aggravated sexual assault.

Additionally, this weekend the El Paso Police Department arrested one of the Texas Most Wanted Fugitives after responding to a domestic disturbance. Alfredo Torres, 33, was a Barrio Azteca gang member with a lengthy criminal history. No tip was involved in the arrest.

The Southeast Texas Transitional Center houses nearly 500 men convicted of a variety of criminal offenses. The department of corrections says Young was civilly committed there upon his release from prison. But the folks who run the facility say those who are living here have served their time in prison.